introductory lecture

PHONETICS PHONETICS ANDAND

PHONOLOGYPHONOLOGY

PHONETICS PHONETICS ANDAND

PHONOLOGYPHONOLOGY INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

REVISIONPHONETICS- The study of articulation,

transmission and perception of speech sounds

- Articulatory phonetics- Acoustic phonetics- Auditory phonetics

Articulatory phonetics• is the study of the way the vocal

organs are used to produce speech sounds

• The number of vocal organs varies with languages: there are speech sounds that do not use an air-stream from the lungs (non-pulmonic sounds, e.g. clicks tut tut or tsk tsk)

Acoustic phonetics• is the study of the physical properties of

speech sounds and how they are transmitted

• Sound energy is a pressure wave consisting of vibrations of molecules in an elastic medium – a gas, a liquid, a solid; in this case, air – air particles are disturbed through the movements and vibrations of the vocal organs, especially the vocal folds. The process continues as a chain reaction for as long as the energy lasts.

• Air particles move in the form of a wave: they are characterized by oscillation , frequency (hertz), amplitude and intensity (decibels).

Waveforms of the vowel /a:/ and the consonant /s/

Spectrograph:• Speech spectrograph (a machine) is

used to display sounds acoustically: time (duration) of a sound is displayed horizontally, acoustic frequency of a sound is displayed vertically, and intensity is shown by the relative darkness of the marks.

Types of spectrogram:

Spectrogram:• Vowels and vowel-like sounds are

darkest and different vowel qualities can be seen in the changing pattern of black bands (formants) which represent varying concentrations of acoustic energy in the vocal tract.

Auditory phonetics• is the study of the way people

perceive speech sounds; the study of speech perception.

• 1st step – when sound waves arrive at the ear;

• 2nd step – transmission of sound along the auditory nerve to the brain

PHONOLOGY- The application of phonetics to a particular

language or languages- In most languages fewer than 50 distinct

sound units- It is concerned with establishing what

units of sound a language uses and how it makes use of them

- Examines the relationship between sounds in a given language and takes account of the theory of sound systems in general

Phonology• By contrast with phonetics, which

studies all possible sounds that the human vocal apparatus can make, phonology studies only those contrasts in sound (the phonemes) which make differences of meaning within language.

Phonology• When considering the sound system of

English, we are referring to the number of phonemes which are used in the language, and to how they are organized. To say there are 20 phonemes in a particular accent means that there are 20 units which can differentiate word meanings: e.g. /e/ is different from /i:/, for example, because there are pairs of words (such as set and seat) which can be distinguished only by replacing one of these vowels by the other.

Purpose of the course• How English is pronounced in the accent

chosen as the Standard• (advanced level)

the above mentioned information in the context of a general theory of speech sounds and their use in a particular language

• Phonetics and phonology – the theoretical context

The necessity of the theoretical background

• Working with the language at an advanced level requires deeper understanding of grammar and related areas of linguistics

The basic ideas of phonetics and

phonology• Phonemes, e.g. “pin” – “pen”

“pet” – “bet” • Pronunciation also makes things

difficult:“enough” vs. “inept” vs. “stuff” Same sounds have different spelling,therefore can be recognized as same only when transcribed

Course development• Identifying and describing phonemes in

English, either vowels or consonants• Phonemes and the use of symbols• Larger units of speech,e.g. syllable, and

further: stress (relative strength of a syllable) andintonation (use of the pitch of the voice to convey meaning)

Using “ROACH”• Bold type – introduction of

technical terms• Single quotes – (‘...’) words used

as examples in spelling form• Double quotes – (“...”) normal use

of quote marks

ACCENTS AND DIALECTS

• Same languages pronounced differently by people from different geographical areas, social classes, ages, educational backgrounds, etc. are said to have different accents

ACCENT ≠ DIALECT• Varieties of a language different from others

not just in pronunciation but also in vocabulary, grammar, word order are called dialects

RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION (RP) – BBC PRONUNCIATION

• The model of English most often recommended for foreign learners studying British English;

• Used by most announcers and newsreaders on BBC showing consistency in the broadcast speech

D. Jones (1909) • “ ‘Good’ speech may be defined as a

way of speaking which is clearly intelligible to all ordinary people.‘Bad’ speech is a way of talking which is difficult for most people to understand. ...”

use of different sounds ≠ unintelligibility

However, do not doubt!Concentrate on

STANDARD !

VARIETIES will be considered

later !

THANK YOU!